CABLE BREVITIES.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 10267, 26 January 1895, Page 7

CABLE BREVITIES.

The Italians have occupied Hnrrur, in East Africa. It is reported that Slatin Bey has escaped from the Mahdi. ■■••■■• A steamer sank jn the Kivgr Ohio, and.37 persons were drowned. The Australian Timber Company, with a capital of L50,00Q, has be;en registered. 1 An agreement' baa been »igned between England and France respecting Hinterland, b«h.tnd Sierra Leone. : .. The eharei jo the Jubilee Mine Company, Thames, New Zealand, have been allotted. Th«capi.t.aljs LIQAPOk. .. ~.-, The Times suggests that th« Premier of Victoria ahonld take the prtwpaotlve deficit from the education g?a.n.t. The N.Z.L. and M.A. Company are applying to the court to be made receivers in the estate of Milea and Co., Limited, of. Christchurch. The English Pqstp>\Btier-general has asked the Orient and P. and Q. Companies to keep the mail queition open until the Australian Postal Conference meets. A cable published in London announcing an estimated deficit of a quarter of a million in the New Zealand revenue "has occasioned surprise and uneasiness in the city. The town of Kasan, in Persia, has been again destroyed by an earthquake. Many were killed, and 100 women were crashed to death in one batch. Some English newspapers assert that it is probable a loan of 25 millions will be asked for when Parliament meets, to establish coaling stations in the Mediterranean. At the election for Evesham, Mr Lang (the Conservative candidate) defeated Mr Impey (Liberal) by 4760 to 3585. [At the general election Sir B. Lechmere, the Conservative candidate, poljed 4170 votes to Mr Impey's 3590.] , It U reported that. Lord Brassey refused the £800 allowed for his outfit, holding that his property iv Australia vpu|d -benefit by his presence in the colonies. Fitzsimmons, the New Zealand pugilist, has been indicted by the Grand Jury in New York on a charge of manslaughter arising ont of the death of Biordan, who died during a fight. Fine weather is now prevailing in Australia, and -the flood* are receding throughout the country. Railway communication with Brisbane is not yet restored. Mr L. A. Jessop, in a letter to the Standard, declares (hat South Australia is sailing dangerously close to the wind in the matter of borrowing, and repudiation is inevitable unless the bondholders ceaae leading. Mr M'Kay, who stood for the vacancy in the Legislative Agßerably ,;of New South Wales caused by the resignation of Mr Slattery, has been returned, defeating the Labour representative by a small majority. It is believed that the origin of the rumour that the Scotch banks were willing to assist the Australian reconstructed banks in paying interest on, deposits was paused by a number of Bcotch agents, who were of opinion th^t the depositors in these, reoonstreated bank* ■were willing to accept reduced interest and extend the period for repayment. At the half-yearly meeting of the Union /Bank of Australia the balance sheet showed a profit for the term of L 59.000. . The deposits amount to L 16.800.000, while the public securities and cash items represent L 6,144,000, and the advances, bills receivable and discounted to LI 5,280,000. The directors, in their report, state that they have made large reserves for doubtful contingencies. AN OPEN LETTER TO THE HON. J. G. WARD, COLONIAL ■'. TREASURER. ♦ , — Hon. Sir, —As yon are beipg advertised to give a speech in Dunedia on the 26th inst., prior to your leaving New Zealand, I take; tb^s opportunity of publjcly addressing you upoja * subject of prime importance to Dunedin and Otago. I have received the following circular from a body known "it r the Workers' Political Committee of Otago:— . . January 21,1895. W. Earnahaw, Esq., M.H.R. ' Dear Sir,—l have been directed by the above committee to. write the city and- suburban,membars with a view of eliciting how much of the appropriation granted last session for the Otago Central railway has been expended, and what further amount there is available to be expended before the expiry of the financial year. Trusting that you will favour my committee with the above information at the earliest possible date,—l am, yours fraternally, R. Slater, Secretary.

You are aware a few weeks age I requested of the Premier certain information for a. body known as the Otago Central Railway League, to which request I received a reply based upon an assumption that the league is a semi-political body, and in language deemed by many to be of a discourteous character. The Workers' Political Committee, whose functions are altogether of a political character, need not, therefore, expect; different treatment than that accorded the league. There is, however, a larger and more representative body than either of the foregoiag— the public of Dunedin—upon whose behalf, as one of their representatives, I most respectfully request of you the following information .— Will the votes for the Otago Central railway and other public works be absorbed by the 31st of March, and liabilities entered into for the authorisation by the time Pariianunt is called upon to grant fresh supply ? If not, why not ? There Were authorised and voted by Parliament at the request of the Government the ['following auroß for publjp workg in Otago— | which requisitions we're * based upon an estimated revenue of which you are reported tjo have stated only a few days ago ' that tha average revenue reseived to date is higher than your estimate, while you spoke with confidence that your full estimate of revenue would be exceeded:—For the Ofcago Central railway: Voted, £45,000 ;Jauthorised, £60,000. For the Cattinn railway: Voted, £10,000; authorised, £15.000. For the . Dunedin Gaol: Voted, £6000; Huthoriaed, £11,000. For the insurance buildiDgs : Voted, £15,000; authorised, £15,000. For the Port Chalmers wharf: Voted, £5000 ; authorised, £6000. I feel no diffidence hi approaching you in this manner, so vital is the subject matter to Dunedin, for ou all hands the pressure of dull trade is being heavily felt. Oar trade languishing through a change of distributing base tc Wellington; our central settlers unable to get produce to Dunedin, though settlement was induced upon the distinct promise of rapid prosecution of the line; the now absolute necessity for the develoj)ment of Central Otago to sustain this important centre of population; most serious of all, the great lack of employment by »c many of our bona fide workers, necessitate this public request, and command a clear and distinct reply. By a return just to hand there were employed in Wellington province in the month of December (vide Labour Journal foi January) co-operators to the number of 843, in Otago' all told 337.—1 am, &c, j William Earnshaw. South Dunedin, Januaty 25. P.S. —While I may not be with you at yom meeting, I most sincerely wish you that whicl ii the best gift of all—good health.

follows :—"The plaintiff has proved the claim for the one-half ot: the price of a reaper and binder, but I do not think it is a case in which interest should be allowed. As to the counttr claim, the first part is withdrawn as not sustainable. The second part is a claim (or damages lit a breach of warranty that the reaper and binder was suited for the purpose of reaping and binding. The evidence shown that the defendant was sued in the Resident Magistrate's Court at Gore in December 1892 for au Instalment of ttje price of the machine, which was then overdue, and that a defence was set up that the machine was warranted to cut grasii, and that there was a breach of that warranty. Evidence was given upon the question, and the resident magistrate decided in favour of the plaintiff and gave judgment for JC26 5s in equity and good conscience. The question is whether a judßUietit of the Resident Magistrate's Court given according to equity and good conscience is an estoppel to what is essentially the same question being again tried. It is quite clear tbat as a general rule the judgment of a court is conclusive between the same parties or their priyitß upon the same matter directly in question in another court. Tins rule has been held to apply to the judgment of a Resident Magistrate's Court, and, although there ia no express authority that it applies to judainents based in equity and good conscience, the following remarks of Mr Justice Chapman in the Otago and Southland Company v. Burns (1 Jurist, IH9) are in that direction : . ' I do not think that any difference of procedure between the lower court and this court would bave stood in the way of the estoppel had it been otcerwise sustainable. Neither the absence of a jury nor the greater, latitude ia the admission of evidence not admissible in this court would have such effect.' The conclusion I come to is that the judgment in an estoppel. There has been no argument upon the last item of the counter-claim, aud, whatever the note to the judgment may mean, I canuot see bciw it can be enforced. J udjment tor plaintiff on the claim, £26 Eb, with costs of rourt 395, witnesses 47s 9d, and professional casts £2. Judgment for plaintiff M Culloch on the counter-claim, with, costs 425."